Price of Love
by ApostolicShadowNinjaGirl
Summary: Rome was never a forgiving place. Heracles learned this the hard way. Being a slave was a difficult life, though he knew things could be worse. When he met , he realized just how much he really had. Too bad no one else in the world would approve of such a relationship, especially not a certain Roman man. Roman!ReaderxSlave!Greece Rated T just in case.


**Reader's POV**

Why did life have to be so boring? You seemed to mull over that question every day. As the youngest daughter of a senator of Rome there was little to nothing that was not available to you. Though you enjoyed having anything you wanted, you also found that you quickly ran out of things that interested you and grew bored.

This alarmed your father to no end. You were the child of his old age after all, and he loved you even more than he had loved the young woman who had been your mother. That was probably partially because she had died shortly after you were born. His first wife had also died, leaving him with a son and a daughter.

You had never talked to your half brother, not really. You had said hello and exchanged a little small talk, but nothing beyond that. He was in the army, quickly working his way up the ranks and was rarely in Rome so you excused yourself for that. You just didn't feel like bothering with his wife and son, and you didn't bother to make an excuse for that.

Your sister Blandina was married but came back to your father's villa often to chide you on everything she could find to chide you about. That was quite a lot. Both her and your fathers third wife (he married this one only to provide a woman in the house for you) constantly fussed at you for not flirting with men of high standing. If you wanted one of them it would be easy for you to get one, but you didn't. They were all filthy, conceited, stuck up pigs who did not deserve you or your time.

"_." oh great. Here she comes. Your stepmother stepped into your room and gave you a hard look. You rolled your eyes and looked back out over the street.

"What do you want this time? Is someone here to see me or something?" you asked irritably, running your hand over one of your three cats soft fur. A year or so back, cats had relieved your boredom for a short time. Sadly that time had passed.

"No. I brought you something."

Oh great, another one of her pathetic attempts to make you happy. "What is it this time?"

"I got you a new personal slave." brilliant. This was probably her tenth time attempting to "help" you by buying you a new slave. They usually ended up reassigned within a few months. "If nothing else he can clean up after your cats."

You perked up a little ans looked at her. A he? She had only gotten you a male once before. Since she was on a budget, the slave was probably old or lame or lacking intelligence as young, healthy, male slaves were by no means cheap.

She seemed to notice your interest and smiled triumphantly. "He was a bargain too! You should like this one. He's Greek too. He should prove worth every bit I spent on him." a Greek? Now there definitely had to be something wrong with him. After all, Greeks were at the very top of the market and had the highest selling price usually.

"Come in now." she said, stepping to the side. A young man with bored green eyes and brown hair stepped into the room. He looked very healthy. You would have guessed that he was mentally challenged had he not been carrying a large metal ball attached to his ankle by a chain. So, he had attempted to escape before, probably more than once. That brought his price down a good chunk. The rest of the mark down probably came from character flaws.

"Alright then!" your aunt clapped her hands together as your new slave shifted the ball a little. "I'm going to go see some of my friends and I won't be back until late. Enjoy your new slave!" she called happily, heading out the door.

"So, what's your name?" you asked, sliding of your perch on the window.

"Heracles." he said, not looking directly at you. He may look proud but he was still nothing more than a slave.

"Heracles hmm?" you walked up to him and circled him, to inspect him. His brown hair was shaggy and had a strange curl sticking out towards the back. He was dressed in a plain, white toga that went down to just above his knees. Other than the ball and chain that was it for clothing. You had to admit that his features were attractive, and they practically screamed Greek.

He kept his eyes looking down, as all slaves did, but that didn't really make much of a difference since the top of your head barely reached his shoulder. You were much smaller and thinner than most women you knew, and people often told you you looked like a doll.

"Well, you can call me mistress, or mistress _." you said, finally coming to a stop in front of the slave who still wasn't looking at you.

"Yes mistress." he said in a dull tone. Maybe he was a little under average in intelligence.

You pursed your lips at him then stooped to sweep up your hairless cat names Ra. Your father had gotten him while on a trip to Egypt. The creature was surprising soft, and beautiful and elegant in a strange way. You immediately noticed Heracles eyes locking onto Ra, and lighting up.

"You like cats?" you questioned.

He looked surprised for half a second as he looked at you, then his instincts kicked back in and his eyes drifted down. "Yes."

"Hmm. For now, I suppose you can take care of Ra, Vesuvias, and Nera then." you said, referring to the fluff ball napping on your bed, and the slightly less furry Nera lounging on the windowsill.

You detected a slight smile on your new slaves face. "As you wish."


End file.
